Rob I completely resonate with the comment about going in to purchase a 20k car and coming out with the 36k model. The wife is going to love it when I tell her I need to replace the thrift store Poppery that I don't use anymore with a 7k model. Wife's get over that kind of thing though. Moving to this drift to your other thread.

Yes i have a reason for leaving SCG off my list, yes it is my opinion, yes it is subjective as opinions are by definition, no don't start a flame war because you disagree.

My wife's is always pretty good about things that way. For me expenditures have to be needed to further my pursuit or have a reason..you know be justified.I love photography and when I said I wanted an 1150.00 dollar 24-105 L series lens she understood. I had just added a 7D to my many cameras collection. Thats what brought me back here was to consider espresso machine upgrade. I must say that the Gaggia Classic has really met our needs as a family. With the MDF it has worked every single dayfor 6 years. I recently added a Preciso grinder. I had originally come here as a Breville refuge ( still have a bad taste in my mouth about that) and was having major pressurized portafilter issues ( understandable hugh). My goal was to get into espresso at the urging of my Pastor. I also wanted to replace our 1200 dollar a year for family of four bill to Starbucks with something better. The Gaggia did itand still works like a champ. Its a faithful friend really. So drifting back in here has been great. I have mulled it over and am still thinking about it butI like the Quickmill Silvano or even a Rancillio Silvia V3. But when I see you guys who spend 2500 bucks for a machine I go hmmm. When I see a 7000 dollarDiedrich commercial grade home roaster my first impulse is wow double hmmmmm. For me the espresso machine is a beauty and would find a good home butin all honesty for me its more machine than I need. Now I see the Diedrich as a serious roaster. A roaster that an enterprising person could use to start a roastingbusiness. I think that would be awesome. About 35 years ago in Santa Cruz Calif where I hail from I would often walk down the mall at night to the Santa Cruz roasting companyto tap on the window to watch a girl I bought coffee from during the day roast beans. I loved it then and love it now. Oh and by the way I offered a sacrifice to the coffee god( kidding) and put 12 oz of unopened Klatch ACEH SUMATRAN GOLD in a sealed container in the freezer. It was roasted 1/8 so I want to see if it has its life extended.I also gave my wife that home barrista article to read on freezing...her comments, well this sure is fascinating.

3kg roasted, 1hr from weighing of beans to cool down of roaster, that used to take 5-6hrs on my HotTop. Being the care giver for my two children under 6 distraction free time is something I have not had a ton of. I am getting some of that time back and in cole of years I will have my days free while they are at school. One plan is to open my own roasting business with an IR-12, a big reason for going the extra mile for the IR-1. If I am going to go into business then I am going to do it for the love of roasting and getting paid not to screw up the best hobby I ever had.

There are other very good choices for commercial roasters. 1lb roasters are probably the best suited for the avid home roaster while 2.5kg roaster produce enough per hour to make a go of a grass roots business or a small on the books Internet sales business which can generate enough to pay for the machine in a short time. I figured if I never went into business then I would have a fantastic home roaster that will last a long time and produce enough beans for all that want them.

Spending $2500 on a machine was a long decision, I do not think it is necessary and it is even over the top luxury in my book. From a carpenters point of view I like quality tools that get the job done right and did not mind paying for them. I have owned many tools that where not quality and the down time they could bring to a job was a waste of time and cost money, sadly these are the tools that are going for quality so much nowadays. The Cimbali Junior Casa DT1 was the machine that fit my profile, commercial, designed to work on easily, a tank, will last a life time but it is sold out and shipment have already been delayed. The Duetto is not built like the Dt1 but would have to step up to the GS3 to get what I wanted out of a duel boiler. The Duetto is lovely, has darn good parts, pretty good to work on, has met and beat my expectation ( I don't mind a few bumps in the road), and it came in under my budget

I am hesitant to even ask this because some people here are so argumentative but I feel its relevant since I honestly dont know .There are machines out there though that can do the same job aren't there? Yes no maybe?

germantownrob Said:

3kg roasted, 1hr from weighing of beans to cool down of roaster, that used to take 5-6hrs on my HotTop. Being the care giver for my two children under 6 distraction free time is something I have not had a ton of. I am getting some of that time back and in cole of years I will have my days free while they are at school. One plan is to open my own roasting business with an IR-12, a big reason for going the extra mile for the IR-1. If I am going to go into business then I am going to do it for the love of roasting and getting paid not to screw up the best hobby I ever had.

There are other very good choices for commercial roasters. 1lb roasters are probably the best suited for the avid home roaster while 2.5kg roaster produce enough per hour to make a go of a grass roots business or a small on the books Internet sales business which can generate enough to pay for the machine in a short time. I figured if I never went into business then I would have a fantastic home roaster that will last a long time and produce enough beans for all that want them.

Spending $2500 on a machine was a long decision, I do not think it is necessary and it is even over the top luxury in my book. From a carpenters point of view I like quality tools that get the job done right and did not mind paying for them. I have owned many tools that where not quality and the down time they could bring to a job was a waste of time and cost money, sadly these are the tools that are going for quality so much nowadays. The Cimbali Junior Casa DT1 was the machine that fit my profile, commercial, designed to work on easily, a tank, will last a life time but it is sold out and shipment have already been delayed. The Duetto is not built like the Dt1 but would have to step up to the GS3 to get what I wanted out of a duel boiler. The Duetto is lovely, has darn good parts, pretty good to work on, has met and beat my expectation ( I don't mind a few bumps in the road), and it came in under my budget

I am hesitant to even ask this because some people here are so argumentative but I feel its relevant since I honestly dont know .There are machines out there though that can do the same job aren't there? Yes no maybe?

Yes! Both for roasters and espresso machines. There are E-61 HX machines for $1000+ less then the Duetto 3, but it doesn't take much adding of features to drive the price up quick. I personally think the Silvano is a capable machine with the geek factor of PID while a Silvia would be a sideways move from the proven machine you have. I have my Oscar to fix and can be a mobile machine for vacations and even weekend trips, if I didn't have that I would probably consider a CC1 but definitely the Silvano and probably a few others in the 700-1100 price range that would make a delicious espresso in a small package.

Precision drove my purchase and the belief that $2500 would give it to me. To be able to be truly critical of my roasts I want the precision of temp management as well as control to give me data to adjust my roasts, my taste buds tell me the Duetto is delivering. I will be checking my taste buds and Duetto next week to make sure.

Well, I got my Duetto up and running Fri. after receiving my converter cord at 9:00P.M. from UPS. Thanks to this tread any question I would have was answered before I even asked it. I do have one though, and it's probably nothing. The rotary pump is so quiet I can't hear a thing. Except a few times there has been a very low whistling like noise when the pump is activated with coffee in the portofilter. Am I just worrying about nothing, or is it a potential problem?

Well, I got my Duetto up and running Fri. after receiving my converter cord at 9:00P.M. from UPS. Thanks to this tread any question I would have was answered before I even asked it. I do have one though, and it's probably nothing. The rotary pump is so quiet I can't hear a thing. Except a few times there has been a very low whistling like noise when the pump is activated with coffee in the portofilter. Am I just worrying about nothing, or is it a potential problem?

With what you said in mind did you consider the La Marzocco GS/3 to just go all the way up ?

germantownrob Said:

Yes! Both for roasters and espresso machines. There are E-61 HX machines for $1000+ less then the Duetto 3, but it doesn't take much adding of features to drive the price up quick. I personally think the Silvano is a capable machine with the geek factor of PID while a Silvia would be a sideways move from the proven machine you have. I have my Oscar to fix and can be a mobile machine for vacations and even weekend trips, if I didn't have that I would probably consider a CC1 but definitely the Silvano and probably a few others in the 700-1100 price range that would make a delicious espresso in a small package.

Precision drove my purchase and the belief that $2500 would give it to me. To be able to be truly critical of my roasts I want the precision of temp management as well as control to give me data to adjust my roasts, my taste buds tell me the Duetto is delivering. I will be checking my taste buds and Duetto next week to make sure.

Yes, but I think if I where to got that far I would have gotten the Speedster. http://www.keesvanderwesten.com/speedster_options.html but that choice would have had me sell my race car or at least my collection of R/C race trucks, what's the point of caffein if there is nothing to go do after drinking it, lol. Also I never did much research on either the Speedster or the GS3 and wonder if cutting edge features and looks would give the same level as build as the DT1 for a lot more money. I didn't mind compromising and saving money on the Duetto for the features, I could have 2 Duettos, softener and filter to plumb both, Pullman custom tamper, and every other accessory I want for the price of one GS3. I guess we all have a line that is just to much to spend.

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